Thieves and Their Offspring
by deadlikedoctorwho
Summary: Neal Caffrey has a secret: a daughter named Stephanie. She has been in foster care for the past 7 years. Now back in NYC, Neal wants to be part of her life again. Compromise? Not for this unconventional family.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello people! If you are a fan of my other fanfiction, I am sorry that I haven't updated in a while. I had a butt ton of school work and was unable to write. I know, I know, I just uploaded a fanfiction. This has been sitting around for a while, so I decided to post it. I will try and update my other one soon. Hope you enjoy this one!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own **_**White Collar**_**, and most likely never will. Otherwise, Neal would have a kid.**

The young woman sat across from Peter, tapping angrily on the table and her legs crossed. She was no more than 16, with crystal blue eyes and dark chocolate hair streaked with turquoise. She was angry. Very angry.

"No." she said simply, staring the FBI agent down.

"C'mon Stephanie. It's just this one time."

"For the last time, it's Stevie. It's should be in my file. And no, it won't be this one time."

"Yes it will. I promise."

"Isn't that what you said the last 5 times you asked for my help?" Her lips pursed, she leaned forward, causing the agent to scoot back. He knew better than to entice her.

"This time it's different."

"Never heard that one before."

"Just answer the question."

"Fine."

She leaned back, crossed her arms, and took a deep breath. Peter leaned forward, looking very eager. "Go to hell." She stood up and stalked out of the room.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey everybody! Guess where I am typing this from! That's right, my BRAND NEW LAPTOP! I am so freaking excited to finally have this thing. Why don't we get to the story? It's getting a lot of traffic! I love you guys' soooooooo much! Please R&R!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own it, but never say never! Oh god. Why must Justin Bieber ruin that phrase?**

Peter was pacing the floor. He had been so sure that Stevie would know where her father was. The two had been inseparable for years, Neal taking her to every con. She was born when he was only 17; he had dropped out of school to raise her. She was everything to him. In fact, she was one of the reasons he had started conning. Raising a baby was hard, and expensive. Somehow Neal had found out about the possibility of millions in the con, and took the chance. Neal had a gift. Neal took the gift, the kid, the money and ran.

"Go to sleep honey. You're no good to the FBI if you are sleep deprived and stressed. You need to sleep." Elizabeth was standing at the steps of the stairs, her foot tapping impatiently. She hadn't seen Peter this anxious since he had first started investigating Neal. "Stevie still holds some resentment. What do you expect! She's 16 years-old."

"She holds some resentment! Neal doesn't! You would think Neal would still contact her. They were so close. That wouldn't just stop all of the sudden."

"I know Peter. But it has been close to 7 years since she's seen him. The two haven't been the best of buddies in a long time. For all we know, he did contact her and she ignored him. I think I would too."

"You're probably right. I should get some sleep. Maybe she'll change her mind in the morning."

The couple had just turned to go upstairs when a knock erupted at the door. They looked at each other, wondering who would knock at 1:30 in the morning. Peter walked towards the door, his hand going instinctively to his hip. Throwing the door open, the two were shocked to see a very wet Neal Caffrey standing on the stoop. "Can I please come in? Or are you two just gonna stand there staring at me?" 


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Now, by popular demand, a longer chapter. I realize that I have a habit of a few short chapters, and one or two long ones thrown in there. I know that annoys some people, but I am not the best at long chapters. I will try my hardest, so please R&R about how you think I did, and which is better. Thank you!**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, Neal Caffrey belongs to someone else. One day, he will be mine!**

The two sat across from each other, the scene eerily familiar to one not 12 hours ago. "I don't know what to tell you Peter. I was just wandering around the city. I have no idea why my bracelet didn't activate."

"Why didn't you just ask me, or tell me where you were going? I would've let you out for the day."

"Yes, with a few agents and monitors. I wanted freedom. I had things I had to do that I really don't want you to know about."

"Like what? What did you do Neal?" The conman crossed his legs and tapped angrily on the table. "Your daughter does the same thing." This caught his attention.

"What did you say?"

"Stevie, she does the same thing."

"How did you know that?" It was Peter's turn to be secretive. "Peter."

"Fine. So maybe I talked to her earlier."

Neal exploded. "You did what! Peter! I specifically told you she is off limits. I don't want her involved in any of this."

"What else were we supposed to do Neal? We had no idea where the hell you were and she is your only link. Mozzie was nowhere to be found. What would you do?"

"First of all I would respect my friend's wishes dealing with his underage daughter. Then I would pull all of your FBI tricks and find him myself. You had no right…"

"I had every right! You lost that respect when you escaped from jail and bailed on your parole. I'm sorry Neal, but we were so sure she would be the first person you would talk to."

Neal ran his hands through his hair and sighed. "She asked me not to."

"Not to what, Neal?"

"Not to contact her." Peter had never seen Neal look so defeated. "After I returned from my escape attempt, I found this in my cell." He tossed the letter across the table. Curiosity got the better of Peter. Picking the letter up, he carefully opened it:

_Dear Neal, _

_ I heard you broke out, and were promptly caught. Nice going Neal. Remember the time when you could tie your shoes without 20,000 men with guns racing to your side? Yeah, fun time. But now we have to get serious. _

_ I'm done, Neal. I can't take all the waiting around and worrying about whether or not you're going to get killed while waiting in line for the showers. I'm done with the moving from place to place and changing aliases. I just want a normal life for once. That's all I ask. And if that means I must be done with you, so be it. I'm sorry Neal._

_ Don't call, don't write, don't try and find me. I need my space. I'm sorry._

_ Stevie_

"I'm sorry Neal, I didn't realize."

"It's fine." Peter knew Neal well enough to know that he's bluffing.

*WC*

"Okay. We have 3 missing masterpieces, 2 dead curators and one missing security tape. Add it all together and you get our newest case. Three Van Gogh's were stolen from a gallery downtown. Both of the curators were also found murdered in the same place, in exactly the same way. It's our job to, well; you know what our job is. Let's get to work."

*WC*

"Peter, Peter. Wait up!" The meeting had disbanded, the agents sent off to their various jobs. Neal had been chasing down the agent for the past 2 hours.

"What Neal? What is so important that you have to chase me around the office for the past 2 hours?"

"I need you to set up a meeting."

"What sort of a meeting?"

"I want to meet with Stevie." Peter paused, turning on his heel. "I need to talk to her!"

"Neal, didn't you just read the same letter I did. You should give her space.'

"Please, Peter. I need to see her." The pleading eyes finally caved him in.

"I'll see what I can do."

*WC*

The knock came at midnight. Stevie opened the door to a very tired and agitated Peter Burke.

"What do you want Peter?"

"I really want to talk to you."

"I am not meeting with my father; I don't care how urgent it is. He could be on his death bed, and I would avoid him like the plague."

"Please. Stevie, just this once would you meet with him."

"No. I sent him that letter. I told him never to contact me and he blatantly ignored it. I am not seeing him."

"Why? Why no more contact?"

"I…" She paused. "Before he went to prison, he promised me that the first thing he would do when he got out would be to find me. He got out twice. Twice Peter. Notice who he ran to both times: Kate. Not me, but Kate." Stevie stopped and ran her fingers through her hair. "I used to wait. Every day, no matter where I was, I would wait for him on the front step. I was actually naïve enough to believe that he would actually come for me. But then I grew up. I'm not doing it Peter. I can't."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Howdy people who read this story! I would like to thank ****ButtermilkCavalry**** for her/his amazing insights into my character. Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to help me improve my story. You are amazing! Okay, so enough lovey-dovey stuff. On with the story! And yes, I realize that chapters 4 and 5 do not show up. I took them down and am now rewriting them. Thanks for all the reminders!**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

The agent sat in his car, gearing up the courage to walk into the building and tell Neal the news. Before he could do anything, there was a knock on the window. Neal was standing there, bouncing up and down with anxiety. "So, what did she say? Is she coming, when will she be here?"

The look on Peter's face made him pause. "What is it? You did talk to her, didn't you?"

"I did. She's not coming."

"What?" The look on Neal's face was heartbreaking. "Why isn't she coming?"

Peter sighed. "C'mon, get in the car. We'll talk about this somewhere more private."

*WC*

The two sat in the car, not talking, not listening to the radio; just sitting. Finally they arrived at Peter's place. Neal stumbled through the front door and threw himself on the couch. "So, what exactly did she say?"

"She said that you broke a promise to her. Something about coming for her first, but instead you went to Kate."

Neal sat back, stunned. "Oh my god. That's why she won't talk to me! I thought she knew."

"Knew what?"

"I sent her a letter. About a week before I broke out, I sent her a letter explaining everything. Why I couldn't come for her first."

*WC*

"It started when Kate visited me and broke it off. I knew that someday, I was gonna get out. I had to plan first. When everything was finalized and my plan was finished, I sat down and wrote her a letter.

_Dear Steve,_

_ Hello. How are you? I haven't heard from you in a while. Anyway, I am writing you this letter because I found a way out. Now, I know that I promised, but we may have to compromise. It's not safe for me to come to you just yet. Please, trust me. I'll be there soon._

_ Love,_

_ Dad_

*WC*

"So she knew."

Neal shrugged. "I thought she knew." He looked close to tears. "I sent the letter. Something must've happened. I… I don't know what happened."

Elizabeth walked in the room. "Neal! What are you doing here? I made cookies…" She trailed off, noticing that the conman, who was usually upbeat and happy, was nearly crying and looked very upset. "Is everything alright?"

He rubbed his face and gave her a watery smile. "Everything is fine."

"Yes, everything is fine. That's exactly why you are sitting on my couch crying. What's going on Neal?"

She sat down on the couch, and gave Neal that look. That one look that made Neal squirm and want to spill his deepest, darkest secrets. "Stevie's still mad at me for a promise I broke even though I explained it and now she won't talk to me!" Neal blurted out. Instantly he began to feel better.

"Aww, Neal. It'll be ok. I'm sure you can find a way to work this all out." A knock came at the door. "I'm going to go get that, and when I come back we'll make a plan and figure out where to go from there. Deal?" He nodded, and she went to the door. "Yes, how may I… Stevie?"


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey! What's going on people? I am currently sitting on my couch, watching House and using my dog as a foot warmer. I have realized something over the past few days: I am addicted to writing this fanfiction. Yup, I will admit it loud and proud. Okay, maybe not super loud, and not super loud. More like whisper it under my breath while furiously blushing. Yup, that sounds about right.**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately it's not mine. **

** "**Hi, Elizabeth. I was wondering if I could come in."

"Now's not exactly the best time**."**

** "**Oh, okay. But can you do something for me? I need you to give this letter to Peter, or Neal." She stuck her hand out, the letter in her hand wrinkled and torn. Elizabeth took it from her, a question in her eyes.

'Why don't you give it to him yourself?"

"Oh, you know, I have that thing, and the other thing, along with that last thing I gotta do. I'm booked." She shrugged and turned to walk away.

"Stevie." The girl froze, her eyes widening in shock. Slowly, ever so slowly, she rotated back towards the door.

"Neal." 


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: SO, sup? I'm fine, thanks for asking. Just in case you were wondering, I will probably not be keeping up this spree of one chapter per day after Sunday. That's only because that's when my break ends, and then I actually have to do work, and not sit in my pj's all day long. Just thought I would give you a heads up!**

**Disclaimer: Not mine, but it should be!**

The two stood there, staring at each other. Tension filled the room, a thickness in the air that made it uncomfortable to breath. The contest went on for what felt like hours, neither gaze wavering, neither one giving in. Finally Peter broke the silence. "Stevie, what are you doing here?"

She answered him hesitantly, her voice hoarse. "I wanted to drop this letter off."

Neal finally dropped his gaze. "How are you?"

She paused, gulped, then turned and bolted down the street. Neal ran to the door; but it was too late.

He cursed and slammed the door. "Dammit!" He slumped over, running his hands through his hair.

"Calm down Neal. It's alright." Elizabeth knelt down and rubbed his back. "We have the letter. Maybe we can find something out from that."

They opened it, holding it away from them, as if it was going to spontaneously combust.

_Dear Neal,_

_ Hello_

_ Stevie_


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I am so sorry that it has been so long! I have been so busy reading **_**The King Must Die **_**for school and writing an essay. But I am on winter break now, and therefore I will try and update more. If there are any **_**Rescue and Life **_**fans out there, I promise I will try and put at least 2 chapters out for that! Onwards! (Anyone else counting down the seconds till January 17****th****?) Oh, yeah! If you want to see Stevie's hair, or what I think Stevie's hair should be, look at my profile.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine, but oh I wish it was. **

She had been sitting and staring out the window for days now, watching the melancholy rain drip down the panes. Two girls stood behind her, watching their friend as she gazed into an unseen distance.

"You think she is alright?"

The taller of the two rolled her eyes. "Yeah, she's perfectly fine. That's exactly why she has done nothing but watch the rain as if it were a Criminal Minds marathon for the past few days." Amy spoke the words with a humor she didn't feel. A deep worry had settled in her chest; she had never seen Stevie this sad before.

Meghan, on the other hand, had no idea what was going on. She and Stevie never agreed on anything, but the two held a mutually comradery with Amy, and therefore tried their best not to slit each other's throats.

"Stevie, sweetheart? You need anything?" Meghan approached the girl cautiously, as if she was an injured animal.

"Oh, screw this!" Amy marched forward and yanked Stevie off the windowsill. "You need to stop staring and start talking. What happened?

Sighing, Stevie ran a hand through her hair. "I saw Neal."

Amy stared at her for a moment, and then burst out laughing. Stevie and Meghan watched in alarm as tears rolled down the girls face. "That's what the manic depressive act is all about! I hate to break this to you girl, but you need to get your head out of your ass and grow a pair."

Stevie looked startled at her friend's outburst. Amy had always stood behind her when it came to Neal.

"You can't keep avoiding him like an annoying bug; you can't whack this problem with a shoe and make it go away. Be the adult and call him, before he hunts you down."

*WC*

She stood over the sink, grasping it like it was the only thing keeping her alive. Looking at herself in the mirror, she splashed water onto herself, trying to build the confidence to do what was needed.

"Be the adult Stevie. Grow a pair." Whispering the words to herself like a mantra, she whips out her phone.

Before she could realize what she was doing, she pressed the green call button.

Every sing ring made her heart beat that much faster. "Hello?" She could hear Peter's tired voice on the other end of the line.

"Peter? Hi…um…Hello! This is, um, this is Stevie."

"I know. Caller ID, remember?"

"Right. Your probably wondering why I'm calling…"

"No, I'm used to random phone calls by 16 year-olds at midnight."

She cringed, then remembered that he couldn't see her face. "Sorry. I need to ask you something."

"Shoot."

"I want you to set a meeting for me. With Neal. Tomorrow, well, later today I guess. Can you?"

"Sure," he sputtered, "I'll pick you up at 10."

"Okay."

"Okay."

She hung up the phone and hugged it to her chest, hoping that she hadn't made a colossal mistake.

*WC*

Peter rolled over, letting what he just heard sink in. Then he started cheering, leaping off the bed with excitement.

"What the hell Peter! Why are you dancing in the middle of the night?"

Peter looked at Elizabeth and smiled. "Victory."

**A/N: So, I hope you liked it. The meeting will be in the next chapter; in the chapter after that I will start talking about the case I mentioned a few chapters ago. Bye for now!**


	8. Chapter 8

She paced around the small glass cube, beyond anxious. After the call, she hadn't even bothered to try and sleep. Her fingernails were worn down to the nub, her hair was a mess, and her clothes hadn't been changed in thirty-six hours. Stevie was a wreck.

Neal, on the other hand, was just as suave as ever. He had gotten a full night's sleep, had had a nice long hot shower, and brushed his teeth. The fact that Peter hadn't called about the meeting had helped.

When he strolled into the building the next morning, he was met with mixed greetings. Some people smiled at him as usual, others cringed, and some went as far as to snicker. Neal looked himself over in the glass. His suit was in order, not a hair out of place. With nothing on him different, something around him had to be.

"Peter?"

"Yes?"

"Why is everyone acting like I have a 'kick me' sign on my back?"

Peter froze. His mind went blank. Elizabeth had had him rehearsing what to say all morning. Unfortunately, that had all gone in one ear and out the other. "Well, ya see…"

Diana came to his rescue. "Sir, you and Neal are needed in interrogation room one."

"Interrogation room? What, did someone start the curator case without me? I'm impressed."

"Not exactly." Peter ushered Neal through the bullpen as fast as he could. "We need to talk."

**A/N: AH! Please don't hate me! I apologize for the small nature of this chapter, but it is the best I can do right now! I didn't even realize how long it had been since I updated until I was searching for Neal fanfictions! I am sososososososo sorry! But here you go! I won't make any promises as to how long it will be until the next one! *****"Please review!" She cries as she ducks through the cloud of tomatoes being hurled at her face*******


End file.
